Bad Tidings
by Lemondropx
Summary: Have you ever wondered what caused Sirius to run away the Summer before his 7th year at Hogwarts? What was so awful that he couldn't bare to stay at home any longer? What was the spark that ignited the feud between his family? Find out, in Bad Tidings.
1. Chapter 1

-~- Chapter 1 – Unwanted Visitors -~-

"Well isn't this just the shittiest way to spend a Summer holiday?" sighed Sirius as he threw himself back onto his four poster bed.

It was early August, and Sirius was all set to be starting his final year at Hogwarts in just a few weeks. Sirius was the first to admit that he was no academic - he loathed school - but right now he wanted nothing more than to get back to the ruddy place!

He'd been playing Exploding Snap on his bed for the past hour and a half. He had gone to Reg's room to ask him to play - yes he was so bored he had resorted to his goody-goody little brother - but he wasn't in his room.

He thought that had been odd, the git practically lived in his room studying. But he'd shrugged it off and pushed it to the back of his mind.

So now he was lying on his back staring up at the silk canopy of his bed, his long lustrous black hair splayed around his over stuffed green pillow. He hated the colours of his room - all dark green and polished dark wood - but his parents refused to let any red or gold into the space. His striking grey eyes scanned his surroundings - the desk in the corner filled with joke products, the tall wooden armoire opposite his bed that held a bunch of Witch Weekly's Top 10 hottest Witches magazines, his bedside table where his wand rested...maybe he could wreck some havoc? Jinx Kreacher again?

Nah - too boring. He'd done that yesterday.

He was about to just give up and go to sleep when he heard what sounded like hooves against hard cobbles on the street outside. He sat up and squinted in confusion at the bay window across the room.

The weather outside was beyond awful, who the Hell would be mean enough to make someone sit outside and control a horse to drive a carriage in it?

He pushed himself up off the bed and crossed the room to look down at the street. A clap of thunder sounded throughout the dark and stormy sky causing him to jump, but he composed himself quickly and reminded himself that he had some snooping to do.

When he saw who it was stepping out of the carriage his reaction was varied. First he wanted to projectile vomit. Then he cringed...which turned into a grimace, which ended up as a sort of strained smile.

If he'd had a choice of seeing Voldemort or Bellatrix stepping out of the carriage, he reasoned that he'd rather it was Voldy.

But then again, taking into account Bella's recent - errrr...activities?...they were basically the same person anyway. So he really shouldn't have been contemplating hexing the bitch from his bedroom window - but he was.

He could not STAND his cousin. Ye, she was older than him by a good 10 years and was more advanced in magic - right now anyway - but he'd love to tell her what a deranged psycho he thought she was. It wasn't just her personality that made her completely mental, it was her appearance too. Her long, thick, shining black hair billowed around her head as the wind whipped her face and she seemed to relish in the chaotic weather around her, giving a sadistic smirk when she saw a few Muggles down the street slip and slide in a deep puddle on the pavement, before flicking her hair over her shoulder and stepping aside to let the others out of the carriage.

'Bitch,' Sirius thought to himself.

The urge to curse someone subsided slightly when he saw his other cousin step out into the rain, pulling her silver travelling cloak tighter around her slender body.

Narcissa wasn't his favourite either, but she was still better than Bella. Even though her head was completely covered, he could tell it was her. The strand of curly blonde hair was so unmistakable that it couldn't be anybody else. She hurried up the stone steps of Grimmauld Place and took shelter under the wooden doorframe. Narcissa was always one to fuss over her appearance, can't have her makeup getting ruined can she?

He sighed when he saw his delightful Aunt and Uncle step out, their black cloaks clipped tight around their neck and casting quick, suspicious looks around the street. They were always on-edge in the Muggle world. They couldn't stand the people as far as they could spit - which wasn't far. Purebloods never did anything like that.

His grimace turned into a sort of smile though when his final cousin stepped out of the carriage. Andromeda sighed when she saw the house infront of her - she hated it just as much as Sirius. She tucked a strand of long brown hair behind her ear and gathered her cloak to climb the stairs with her family.

He'd been so engrossed in watching them that he jumped when he heard the doorbell ring and that's when it sunk in that they were here. Why were they here?

He whipped his head around when he heard a rapping on his bedroom door and he scrambled across it to open it up. He opened it to find his twisted little House Elf standing there with his bat-like ears perked up and a wicked sneer on his face.

"Master Black and his Lady ask that young Mr. Black come downstairs. They is wanting to talk to you," he leered up at Sirius.

"About?" Sirius asked curtly.

"Kreacher does not know," the elf grinned before giving him one last preying look and disapparating with a snap of his fingers.

Sirius glared at the spot the elf had been standing in just a moment ago. That was another thing Sirius couldn't stand. Kreacher. He was such a rotten little snitch, and if there's one thing Sirius hated, it was a snitch.

He would have preferred just staying in his room rather than going downstairs and seeing his messed up family, but he'd been summoned. There wasn't much he could do now.

He trudged down the stairs, one by one, peering over the banister as he did so to look at the floors below. He could hear Kreacher greeting his Aunt and Uncle as they walked through the front door, Bellatrix insulting him, Narcissa saying nothing - as usual - and Andromeda thanking him for taking her cloak...and then his Aunt scolding her afterwards.

''A Black never thanks anyone Andromeda. Everyone should be honoured to do something for us, we are of course-"

"Noble members of the House of Black," Sirius mimicked his Aunts stern voice perfectly. He rolled his eyes and took his time walking. He wasn't in any rush to get down there.

He was considering ordering Kreacher to tell them all that he'd disappeared or something, but he stopped when he heard a dark, throaty chuckle to his right. He turned his head to glare at whoever it was, and was surprised for a second.

Regulus was leaning against his doorframe, his arms folded and his dark blue eyes fixed on his older brother.

"Well aren't you in for a treat?" Regulus asked sarcastically, leaning forward slightly to peer over the stair railing to the floors below.

"Fuck off," Sirius countered. It was a rubbish comeback, but right now he didn't care. "Where were you?" he asked suspiciously. His little brothers dark, shoulder-length hair was glistening and water droplets fell to the floor.

Regulus followed his brothers scrutinizing gaze to the puddle of water forming around his feet, and he returned his look with an passive one. "Out."

"Where?"

"Oh I wouldn't be too concerned with me dear brother, I'd be more worried about yourself," Regulus smirked, much to Sirius's fury. What did this little git know that Sirius didn't?

"Tell me what you know and I won't hex you," threatened Sirius, his hand twitching towards his wand in his jeans pocket.

"I think we both know what's about to happen - our three cousins turning up, all females, their parents meeting with ours. I have to say Sirius, even I gave you more credit than this - don't they call you somewhat intelligent at school?"

Sirius simply blinked at him. What the hell was he on about? "Cut the crap Regulus, what's going on? What do you know that I don't?" he asked again, more pleadingly than anything else. This was starting to freak him out.

"I've already said too much, run along now and meet Mummy and Daddy like a good little boy," Regulus teased, turning on his heel to close his bedroom door.

Sirius glared at him. "You've said too much? You mean that's all your little snitch, Kreacher, would tell you? Well what if I were to tell Mum and Dad that you've been sneaking out? Would Kreacher cover for you then?"

Regulus only smiled back at him knowingly. "Alright, you know want to play this game? Fine - I'll give you one more clue in return for your silence."

"Done," Sirius shrugged, trying to act casual about it when he was actually desperate for information.

Regulus surveyed him - it wasn't like his brother to give in so easily. But oh well, he must be desperate. "We both know what happens to a male member of the Noble House of Black the Summer before he becomes of age. It's an ancient Pureblood tradition - and it looks like Mum and Dad are standing by it-"

"SIRIUS BLACK III! WE DO NOT LIKE TO BE KEPT WAITING!" came a shrill cry from below, and they both recognized it as their dear mother's angry voice.

"-Have fun," Regulus sneered before stepping into his room and shutting the door.

Sirius scratched his head in confusion before sighing and beginning his descent again.

He had no clue what to be expecting from this family meeting - but one things for sure...if Regulus was smirking about it, chances are it wasn't good.

Oh how he was right.


	2. Chapter 2

-~- Chapter 2: A Reunion -~-

Sirius reached the bottom of the stairs, still scratching his head about what Regulus had said. What happened when a guy in the Black family was about to turn 17?

His birthday wasn't for another week...maybe they were talking about a party? Then he remembered what family he belonged to and who his parents were. Ye, that wasn't likely.

He jumped the last three steps and grunted when he reached the bottom. He gave a little start when another loud clap of thunder sounded throughout the dark sky, what seemed like right above the house, and made an effort to move a bit faster down the narrow hallway.

Sirius had been thinking so hard about what Regulus had just said that he wasn't even looking where he was going. And he collided with someone and fell to the floor.

"AH! Watch where you're g- Oh Annie it's just you," Sirius smiled as he rubbed his head and pushed himself up off the floor to help his older - and favourite cousin - Andromeda to her feet.

"Thanks Sirius," she sighed once she got to her feet and began dusting off her gold robes. The colour went beautifully with her big hazel eyes and long curly chestnut hair. She noticed Sirius staring and smirked at him. "What?" she asked playfully.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "I just find it pretty amazing that someone in this family has the guts to wear Gryffindor colours," he chuckled as he took her hand and made her do a little spin to show off the shimmering gold fabric.

"I think they suit me pretty well for a Slytherin," she teased as she admired the robes herself - still shocked that her Mother and Father let her out of the house wearing them. "And besides, someone has to stand up to this lot," she gestured with her head towards the dining room door.

Sirius followed her line of vision to the closed dining room door and frowned. "Too right. I'm sick of how they control us - as if we haven't got brains of own!"

"I get what you mean - is Reg still, errrr...conforming to their beliefs?" she asked hesitantly, looking upwards through the narrow gap in between the winding staircase to the floors above. She saw a pair of bat-like ears and large glaring eyes dart out of view and a shiver ran up her spine. She hated this house.

"Unfortunately - except he's becoming a right git with it all," Sirius complained, making sure it was extra loud on the last part so that Regulus and Kreacher would hear it upstairs. That was before he ushered for Andromeda to come closer and he dropped his voice to barely above a whisper. "To be honest, I think he's started sneaking out to Death Eater meetings - has Bella...?"

Although he trailed off, Andromeda didn't need him to finish his sentence. "Yes, she has. She always comes and tells me what they talk about - I think she's honestly under the impression I'm going to conform to her twisted way of thinking!" Andromeda scoffed. "Not likely, I want nothing to do with them. And nor does Ted," she insisted with a nod of her head as she crossed her arms.

Sirius's eyes widened, taking on their familiar cheeky sparkle. "Ted eh? Who's he then?" he smirked suggestively at her.

Andromeda's eyes widened too, but because she realized she'd said too much. No one knew about her and Ted yet. "Errr - he's a- a -a friend! Yes! A friend!"

"A friend, or a 'friend friend'?" he grinned at her with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh you're terrible!" she laughed as she swatted him across the arm. But when Sirius simply smiled back at her expectantly she realized he wasn't going to drop it. "Fine! If you must know - he's more than a friend," she admitted, a blush creeping onto her creamy-coloured skin.

"Well congratulations then Annie, I'm happy for you," he smiled genuinely at her. "Your parents must be happy that you've found someone - has your Mum started planning the Wedding already?"

She turned her head to glare at the Dining Room door. "Not if they have any say in it no. There's a reason I haven't told anyone about it Sirius - he's a-" she looked around before bringing her mouth right next to his ear and cupping it with her dainty hands to whisper,"-Muggleborn."

Sirius pulled back and simply gaped at her. The girl had more guts than he gave her credit for!

"Well I'll be..." he said in astonishment. How was she so brave to go against her family? Could he be that brave?

"It's really not that big a deal - it's probably stupid to do actually given what's bound to happen when they find out," she sighed.

"Following your heart is never stupid. Or what's right. But I have to say, you make defying the family look easy."

Her look turned completely serious. "Trust me Sirius, doing the right thing is never easy," she sighed. "But you're right, it is the right thing to do and I am following my heart-" her eyes widened for a second as she felt an uncomfortable pressure,"-and my bladder. Where's the bathroom Sirius? It's impossible to find in this place," she threw her hands up in the air out of frustration.

Sirius chuckled heartily and placed a hand on the small of her back to lead her to the stairs.

"Third floor, second door on the right - that's my room. My bathroom is just through the door next to the desk."

"Thanks," she smiled at him.

"No problem," he assured her and turned to leave before a thought occured to him. "Oh Annie?" he called up the stairs to her. She stopped and turned around to face him. "What's this about?" he nodded towards the ominous dining room door.

Her smile faded, and she gave him a sad look. "I don't think it's right that you hear it from me," she replied in a strangled, quiet voice.

He blinked at her. "And it's better that I get the shock of my life when I hear it from them?" he asked incredulously. "Please Annie just tell me," he begged. He hated the feeling that everyone else knew something that he didn't.

"I can't say Sirius, but know that whatever happens - we'll always be cousins and best friends first and I'll never force you into something that you don't want to do," she gave him a sad smile before turning on her heel and walking up the rest of the stairs.

Sirius stared after her. "Well that wasn't completely confusing," he muttered to himself and ran his fingers through his black wavy hair before plucking up the courage to walk down the hallway to the heavy dining room door.

He braced himself for what he was about to face. What was he walking into? 'One way to find out,' he told himself and with that pushed the door open and stepped into the dimly lit room.

The candelabras were the only source of light in the otherwise dark room, along with the roaring dark-wood fireplace that took up a majority of the far wall and the occasional flash of lightning that could be seen through the wall of windows.

The whole family was seated at the long glass-topped dining room table in the centre - his Father at the head, his mother on the right, Regulus - when had he showed up? - sitting across from her with Bellatrix and Narcissa to his left and his Aunt and Uncle sitting opposite each other in the centre.

The hushed conversation stopped when Sirius made his presence known by clearing his throat.

"About time," his Mother said curtly.

"Yes, a Black should never be kept waiting," Bellatrix added snidely - giving him a wicked smile that was supposed to make her look superior, but instead showing off her rotting teeth and made her look mental.

"Neither should Psychiatrists Bella, what are you - about 25 years overdue for your appointment?" he asked sarcastically.

"How dare yo-"

"ENOUGH!" Orion, Sirius's father yelled - causing the bickering between the two to stop instantly.

Cygnus and Druella, Sirius's Aunt and Uncle gave Sirius a snide look out of the corners of their beady eyes before turning to Orion at the head of the table.

"Orion," Cygnus began. "You have asked for this meeting between our families - may I ask what for?"

"You may," Orion replied with a nod. "As we know, it is vital that we keep extending our family line-"

"-And keeping it Pure," Bella interjected.

"My thoughts exactly Bellatrix," Orion praised that his niece had adopted his way of thinking. "As such, I believe that the best way to do this is to keep the magical blood between our families by uniting them!"

Sirius noticed how everyone else was nodding in agreement - save for Narcissa who sat there with her head bowed and saying nothing...as usual - and he felt completely out of the loop.

"Our families are already united - Uncle Cygnus and Mother are brother and sister," Sirius stated in an obvious tone.

"We are well aware of that," Sirius's mother replied curtly.

"Thank you for that observation Sirius, but I was meaning uniting our families through one of the oldest Pureblood traditions," Orion paused, for dramatic effect. "Marriage."

At that point Sirius's jaw may have just hit off of the floor - he wouldn't have cared if it had, he was too busy being in shock.

Of course, THAT'S what Regulus meant - the male members of the Black family always begin planning an arranged marriage before their 17th Birthday!

Realizing this though didn't help Sirius much, he was still openly gaping at his Father and at that moment Andromeda slipped through the dining room door and closed it again for privacy.

Her eyes scanned the tension-filled room. She saw the parents, all looking quite casual about the whole thing - as though it were normal to marry your own family members.

'Oh wait, I forgot that it is in Pureblood families,' she thought sarcastically to herself. She saw Regulus smirking at Sirius's expression, and Bella revelling in it too. Narcissa kept her eyes fixed on the table - she didn't want to be here as much as Andromeda or Sirius did, but she'd never say anything. And then her eyes locked on Sirius's horrified ones.

The room was quiet for a minute.

Longer than a minute actually.

Every passing second felt like an hour. Until Sirius opened his mouth to speak in a strangled voice.

"Father...I can't."


	3. Chapter 3

-~- Chapter 3 – Defiance -~-

The room was completely quiet. Nobody could believe what was happening.

"Father...I can't," Sirius repeated in a strangled kind of voice.

Orion Black blinked at his oldest Son. "Excuse me?" he asked in a menacingly low voice.

Sirius gulped, he'd never blatantly defied his Father before. "I s-said I-" he took a minute to compose himself before continuing, "I can't."

Orion didn't take his eyes off of his Son for a second. His dark eyes formed into such thin slits as he glared at Sirius that he looked almost snake-like. "I would strongly reconsider my answer if I were you boy," he cautioned as he stepped around the head of the table to stand behind his wife's chair, to stare his Son down better.

"I-I won't reconsider," Sirius insisted, staring back at his Father.

"Sirius," Andromeda gasped, stepping forward to place a hand on his shoulder to try and stop him. She'd never seen anybody disrespect a member of the House of Black like this - not even Bella - and she knew that to do so was highly foolish.

"No!" Sirius cried, shrugging off her hand. "I can't do it Annie! I can't marry any of you!" he gestured to her and then his other two cousins sitting at the table. "Least of all her," he spat at Bellatrix, who's evil toothy grin was wiped off her face immediately.

"Why I ought to-"

"Go see a therapist - I hear St. Mungos has a great Psychiatric Ward," Sirius growled at her. Bellatrix stood up suddenly forcing her chair to collide with the wall behind her, her eyes ablaze and her jaw set into a hard line.

"HOW DARE YOU! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO INSULTED! MERLIN HELP THE WITCH WHO GETS LANDED WITH YOU FOR LIFE!"

"And may all the powers of the world help the Wizard who is stuck with you Bellatrix," Sirius spat back at her, both of them reaching for their wands.

"Well doesn't this just put a spanner in the works?" Regulus chuckled darkly to himself from his seat at the table.

"The fuck are you on about now Reg?" Sirius demanded to know.

"LANGUAGE," Walburga scolded her son with a piercing gaze, before sighing and turning back to look at her husband. "Although even I must agree with Sirius my dear, the marriage you arranged between Sirius and Bellatrix seems highly improbable - the pair have always been terrible for fighting."

It was Bellatrix's turn to gape at someone, and she turned to her Aunt and Uncle simply blinking at them. "W-What? You were going to marry me off to this sorry excuse for a Pureblood Wizard?"

"You were going to make me marry this nut job?" Sirius cried incredulously, what had his parents been thinking?

"Indeed," Orion replied curtly. "But don't threat Walburga, if Sirius is not prepared to marry Bellatrix, then there are other ways to deal with this. Cygnus," he called to the end of the table to Bellatrix's Father. "Would either of your other two daughters be opposed to marriage?"

Sirius glanced quickly at Andromeda out of the corner of his eye, both looking completely horror-struck. This couldn't be happening.

"Father I-"

"Well no, nor Andromeda or Narcissa have been propositioned for marriage yet," Cygnus frowned at his two daughters, cutting off Sirius completely.

"-Father I don't think you underst-"

"Actually, I have been made an offer of marriage," Narcissa revealed in a small voice as she lifted her head. It was the first time she'd spoken since they'd arrived.

Sirius blinked at her. Quiet little Cissy had gotten herself a Fiancee? He had to admit that shocked the Hell out of him - and apparently her parents too, seeing as they just stared at her.

"From who?" her Father asked, using a business-like tone rather than a friendly one.

"Lucius Malfoy - Heir to the Malfoy fortune and estate," she replied in a cool and collected tone, never once breaking eye contact with her Father.

There was a moment of silence.

"THE Lucius Malfoy? Distant relatives of the Devereuxs? One of the most powerful Pureblood families to ever grace the English countryside?" Cygnus asked incredulously, growing more excited with each question.

"Yes Father, he proposed to me only yesterday when we met for tea," she replied, and blushed at the memory of him getting down on one knee.

Druella Black scrutinized her youngest daughters appearance from head to toe. "Well where is this ring then? I certainly do not see it."

Narcissa's blush only grew deeper and she pushed a few strands of flaxen curls back behind her ear nervously. "Well we wanted to tell you before he gave me his Mother's ring and made it official..."

"Well this is marvelous! Druella, begin planning the Wedding for this Summer - it will take place immediately after Narcissa finishes school. Oh and contact the Prophet, I want an interview arranged for the new Pureblood couple," Cygnus demanded, smiling away. He couldn't stop thinking about how much fame and fortune his family was going to come into from this marriage.

Sirius stared at his cousin, from his cousin to his aunt and uncle and then back to his parents.

Had everyone just forgotten the bomb that they'd dropped on him about marriage? Or had that all been forgotten?

"Many congratulations to you Narcissa," Orion praised with a nod of his head. "Considering this new development, that leaves only one alternative," Orion said slowly, taking the time to enunciate each word as he turned his head to look back at his son.

"Sirius will marry Andromeda."

Sirius stood completely motionless, frozen to the spot.

'Sirius will marry Andromeda.

' The words seemed to replay over and over in his head. 'Sirius will marry Andromeda.'

He couldn't believe what was being asked of him. He scoffed inwardly to himself. 'Asked'. There was no 'asking' in the Black family - everything was an order.

'Sirius will marry Andromeda.'

He closed his eyes tight, shaking his head from side to side. This couldn't be happening. He'd never approved of his families traditions before, but this was simply taking it too far.

He'd grown up with Annie!

They'd been friends for years!

She was his favourite cousin!

'Sirius will mar-'

"NO!"

Walburga, who had been discussing Wedding details with Orion, Cygnus and Druella stood up in one swift motion, completely taken aback to look at her Son.

"This is the last time I shall warn you about conduct Sirius. A Black does not interrupt," she recited, her dark hazel eyes boring into him as she pursed her ruby red lips.

"You can shove your conduct up your arse," he snarled at her. He'd never seen his Mother speechless before, but she was now.

"I beg your pardon?" Orion spluttered on his glass of wine as he slammed it down onto the table.

"You heard me - you can stick your conduct and rules where the Sun don't shine Father. You misunderstood me earlier when I said I would not marry - I was not simply referring to-" he cast a sideways glance out of the corner of his eyes to a rather stunned Bellatrix,"-our resident Psycho-" he saw Bellatrix's mouth open to retort and his Uncle and Aunt do the same and so he hurried on,"-But I will not marry any of my cousins. Least of all Annie," he turned to look at Andromeda, who had covered her mouth with one hand while the other kept a firm grip on her wand inside her golden robes.

She applauded his bravery - to wanting to be an individual - she really did, but to do it in this way...well at least she could see the fight that was about to blow up and was prepared for it.

Orion slinked around the head of the table, his wand grasped in his back pocket as he approached Sirius. "And you misunderstood ME boy. This is not a request-"

"I understand that. And I wasn't asking for your permission. I'm telling you," Sirius countered, eyeing the way his Father's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on something behind him.

"Nobody TELLS me anything! To defy the rules of your elders is to defy the House of Black and to-"

"I DON'T CARE! I WILL NOT MARRY MY COUSIN!" Sirius yelled at his Father, who was now only a few menacing steps away.

"Orion," Cygnus cautioned, standing up and moving around to stand in front of Druella, who sat completely in shock watching the scene unfold around her. He knew his brother-in-laws temper and, admittedly, he could not stand the sight of his nephew, but there were other ways to deal with this - and murder was not the answer.

"Quiet Cygnus! To defy his elders is to defy the Noble House of Black! And doing that earns the most severe punishment!"

"Orion there are other ways to deal with this! The Imperius curse!" Walburga insisted, moving to grab her husbands wand from his hand.

"No Walburga! He has blatantly disrespected our ancient traditions and rules. As such, there is only one thing left to do," he turned his icy gaze back to Sirius. "If you do not stand with the Black family - then you are no longer classed as one of us. And so you are no longer held in the highest esteem. From this moment on," Orion's lips twitched upwards into a wicked toothy grin, "You are dead to the Noble House of Black. You are as good as the dirt beneath our feet," his grin grew wider so that it was a sneer and his eyes flashed dangerously, "And no dirt shall enter my home."

Sirius stood, in complete and utter disbelief. He felt angry tears pricking the corners of his eyes and he looked to Regulus for help - Narcissa - Bell- actually no, Bellatrix would stab him in the back quicker than you could say "Nutter" if you gave her the chance.

He hadn't noticed that his Aunt and Uncle had moved to stand by his parents - both of whom had succumbed to his Fathers way of thinking and had their wands raised.

This was it.

He had never wanted to be born into this family, and had always wished he could leave...but now that it was happening he felt sort of...numb.

"Any last words?" Orion asked in a dark voice - his wand pointed at Sirius's throat.

Sirius thought for a moment. "Thank you. You have given me a lot through out the years - but this may just be the best gift I could have ever hoped for-"

"TRAITOR!" screamed Walburga, her temper now peaking to all new levels causing the glass in the window panes to quiver and the fire to roar even higher.

"For standing up for what I believe in? Of course you would think that Mother - you don't like it when you can't control people do you?"

"BLOOD TRAITOR!"

Narcissa whimpered and Regulus hurried to her side to push her away from the table and stand in front of her.

Bellatrix retrieved her own twisted wand and brandished it at Sirius too. Oh she had been waiting years for this.

"And proud of it!" Sirius cried back, inching backwards towards the door as a sea of Black began advancing towards him.

"Step aside Andromeda!" Cygnus called to his daughter. Sirius whipped his head around to find that she was indeed still standing firmly by his side.

Unlike Sirius, she hadn't bothered holding back her tears - they cascaded down her cheeks.

"You always did say I had the heart of a Lion father," she whimpered, and at that the lightning flashed outside causing the gold silk of her robes to glint in the flashing light.

"Step aside you stupid girl! Do you want to face the same fate as this Blood Traitor?" Walburga shrieked.

"Andromeda, please see reason," Druella begged. Walburga and Orion may have no qualms in disowning their child, but Druella did.

"No Mother - if Sirius is being disowned for refusing to marry me, then I might as well be too. Right now. If I marry it will be for love and not because I have been ordered by the likes of you!"

"Annie let me deal with this-"

"No Sirius! I will not marry you, or any other Pureblood suitor that they deem appropriate! I will marry Ted! And only Ted!"

A horrified gasp broke out from the other side of the room.

"THAT MUDBLOOD? FRIEND OF THAT ARTHUR WEASEL FREAK?" Bellatrix's scream ripped through the air. She was only a slither away from losing control.

Andromeda wiped her tears and moved to stand infront of Sirius completely, shielding him from what she knew was coming.

"Like I said Father - you always did say I had the heart of a Lion. And I am not going to stand down!" she said. "Is this what it feels like to be a Gryffindor Sirius? I think I quite like it," she smirked to her cousin over her shoulder.

What a relief it was to finally be herself.

"How dare you even UTTER that FILTHY word in my presence! I CURSE THE DAY YOU BECAME MY SISTER!" Bellatrix screamed again.

Andromeda saw her sister's wand hand twitch.

"Careful Bella, I may be a Lion at heart, but I'm still as quick as a Snake when it comes to duelling!-"

"-AVADA KEDAVRA!"


	4. Chapter 4

-~- Chapter 4 – Family Ties -~-

"EVERTE STATUM!" Andromeda yelled at Bellatrix, hoping to throw her sister back against the stone wall - but to no avail. Bellatrix simply deflected it.

"CRUCIO!" Orion and Cygnus cried in unison.

"Protego Horribilis!" Sirius bellowed, and just as the jets of light were inches away from Andromeda, they were quickly deflected by strands of silvery light that formed a shield around them.

"CURSE YOU!" Walburga shrieked, and the magic pulsing through her veins caused the panes of glass in the wall of windows by the fireplace to come caving in.

The wind that surged through the broken windows brought the glass with it and severed the rope that suspended the large crystal chandelier from the ceiling.

"Kreacher get us out of here!" Regulus cried as he pushed Narcissa out of the way of the shattering crystals.

Over the howling of the wind Sirius could hear a loud popping sound and looked over in time to see Kreacher apparate behind Regulus and Narcissa, grab them by the back of the robes and then disapparate.

This momentary lapse of concentration was all Orion needed to cast a nasty severing charm at Sirius, who was completely unaware of the light growing ever closer to his left heel.

"Oh no you don't! Protego! Confringo!" Andromeda was easily able to deflect Orion's curse, however he was not as lucky. Old with age, he was unable to properly dodge the angry flames that erupted from Andromeda's wand, and so the hem of his silk cloak caught fire.

"Sirius! We need to get out of here!" Andromeda called to Sirius over Orion's panicked screams and the chilling wind. The wind caused her long brown hair to whip around her face and as she spun around to deflect each of the oncoming curses at her and her little cousin, it was beginning to disorientate her.

"Follow me!" he shouted back. "Bombarda Maxima!" he yelled as he took aim at a nearby wall. The distraction caused by the explosion was enough for Sirius to grab Andromeda by her free hand and rush her from the room, while his Mother, Uncle and Aunt were temporarily knocked unconscious and buried under a pile of bricks.

"I'm going to get you!" Bellatrix cackled as she chased after her sister and cousin into the narrow hallway.

"Sirius your things! Hurry!" Andromeda called to him as she shoved him out of the way of an oncoming jet of light towards the narrow staircase and turned to face her sister head on.

The way Sirius landed he was lying face down on the bottom steps of the narrow staircase, and he pushed himself back up to gape at his cousin.

"You can't take her on by yourself!"

"Expelliarmus!" Andromeda cried and breathed a sigh of relief for a second when Bella's wand flew into her open hand. "Go!" she insisted to Sirius as she advanced forward on Bellatrix.

Sirius eyed Bellatrix warily before casting a worried glance at Andromeda and running up the stairs.

"Stupe-" Andromeda was quickly silenced by Bellatrix smirking and her wand flying back into her hand. Andromeda practically growled at her sister - she'd forgotten how good Bellatrix was at non-verbal spells. 'Accio' had always been one of her specialties.

"Let's finish this," she snarled.

"Gladly."

The last thing Sirius saw of his cousins as he climbed the narrow staircase was flashes of light that lit up the hallway, and he only hoped that Andromeda would be ok until he returned.

Sirius hurried up the stairs, taking care not to trip and constantly looking over his shoulder for his deranged parents or his Aunt and Uncle.

He could hear a scream from below - he knew he had to hurry and he quickened his pace when he felt the house shake slightly. Another wall had just been blown out - probably in the hallway.

Sirius scrambled up the final few steps. He threw open his bedroom door his eyes frantically scanning the space and peering behind the wooden door before being satisfied that he was alone and stepping inside.

He crossed to the centre of the room and kneeled down to retrieve his trunk from under his bed.

His hand searched the darkness under his bed - but his fingers did not come into contact with the brass handles on the side of his trunk, or it's leathery surface.

Instead they only passed through thin air.

Not only was this odd, but he was wasting valuable time. His trunk SHOULD be here. It had been packed for weeks - counting down the days until he could return to school.

He bent down properly and stuck his head under the bed, the sounds of the fighting below growing louder with each passing second. He hadn't been imagining things. His trunk wasn't here.

WHY WASN'T IT HERE? WHERE COULD IT POSSIBLY B-

"Would the Blood Traitor be looking for this?"

Sirius lifted his head and whirled around to face the door. He had not been expecting to see the sight before him.

Kreacher - his bat like ears perked up, the wiry strands of hair atop his head looking more frazzled than usual and a menacing glint in his large glassy eyes. His lips were turned up into a crooked sneer, and he had one hand on the handle of Sirius's trunk.

"Give me that. NOW," Sirius ordered, standing up and advancing towards the little elf to tower over him.

"Kreacher does not think he will," grinned the little elf.

"I will not ask again Kreacher! Give me that n-"

"Kreacher, give it to him," came a panicked voice from the doorway.

Sirius was shocked for the second time within the space of two minutes.

"Regulus...what are you doing here?"

Regulus stood in the doorway, opening and closing his mouth continuously - apparently at a loss for words.

His thick dark hair was coated with dust where the Chandelier had fallen and he had a few cuts on his cheeks from the shattering crystals. His eyes seemed shinier than usual - even a bit scared looking. That was understandable though - the family was at War downstairs.

Sirius had been about to ask something when the house shook again, whether it was due to the booming thunder claps outside or the battle taking place downstairs, he didn't know. But he knew he had to hurry.

"Regulus, what are you doing here?" Sirius called to him again over the sound of screams and anguished cries that drifted upstairs.

"I-I...I mean-" Regulus ran a hand through his matted hair out of frustration. This was more difficult that he thought it'd be. "I-I-"

"Spit it out Reg! I don't have time for this!" Sirius barked as he moved forward to pick up the trunk and push past his brother.

"No!" Regulus cried and blocked Sirius's exit. "I have to say this!" he insisted, and Sirius noticed a hint of desperation in his brothers voice. He may not like him - but they were still brothers. And no brother should have to hear his sibling sound like this...so scared.

"Reg, what's wrong?"

Regulus still seemed unable to get the words out, so Sirius knew he'd have to try something else to help him - and then it came to him.

"Reggie," Sirius said in a small voice, to which Regulus's head snapped up to meet his brothers. "Reggie," Sirius repeated, it felt odd saying his nickname after all years of not even uttering it. The last time he'd used that nickname, the brothers had not been fighting. They had been happy - or as happy as two people could be in a house like this - they had been friends.

Regulus's eyes began to water and it was then that Sirius realized why his eyes had looked so shiny before - he was trying not to cry. With out a word Regulus threw himself at his brother and hugged him tight.

Sirius stood motionless, unsure of what to do for a minute, before gaining control of his arms and patting his brother on the back. A moment like this seemed so out of place given what was happening downstairs. "Reg I have to g-"

"You can't leave me here alone!" Regulus begged, pulling back to give his brother an intense frightened look.

"Reg, I have to! I'm not marrying our cousins and refusing to do that means disinheritance! You heard what Dad said!"

Regulus's bottom lip began quivering. "But- AH!"

Sirius jumped backwards, staring confusedly at his brother. His eyes were shut tight and he was shaking, as though he were fighting with himself – trying to keep control.

"Regulus, what's-"

That's when he heard it – the cackling laughter. That deranged, cackling laughter. The sound drifted up the stairs and before Sirius could even blink, black tendrils of smoke and darkness began oozing into the room through the crack under the door.

"Reg – move away from the door now!" he cried, running forwards and trying to pull his little brother away.

"I – Can't - AH! RUN!" Regulus grunted, still shaking with his hands balled up into fists.

"Reg what's gotten in to you? Move no-

"Nobody's moving anywhere!" came a manic sing-song voice from the other side of the door. The sound of it sent shivers up Sirius's spine and he didn't need to see who it was outside to know what was coming next.

"Regulus listen to me! We need to go before it's too la-"

At that the door was blasted off it's hinges, causing jagged shards of splintered wood to ricochet off the surrounding walls and fall hard to floor.

The black tendrils flowed freely into the room, lacing their way around Regulus's legs and snaking up and around his body until there was a perfect shrouded outline behind him. Sirius knew who would emerge out of the shadow before he even saw her dark tangled curls.

"Nobody runs away from me," Bellatrix snarled as the smoke cleared, letting Sirius see her properly. Although he was lying on the floor, he could still see the demented glint in her eyes as they flashed dangerously. And the way her wand was pointed at Regulus.

"Where's Annie?" Sirius asked through frozen lips, eyeing her wand carefully. Regulus was still shaking as tears trickled down his cheeks.

"That little Witch got what was coming to her," Bellatrix spat.

"Whatever you're doing to him leave him alone, this is between you and me," Sirius said cautiously, standing up to look at her properly.

"It is between you and me, as much as it between you and him now," she smirked and before Sirius could ask what she was on about, Regulus stopped shaking and his eyes opened. They were completely glazed over. As though he were staring into space – Not really there.

It didn't take Sirius even two seconds to figure out what she'd done to him. The bottom lip that had been trembling before stopped, and his entire face became a hard emotionless mask.

Regulus was under the Imperius Curse.

"Kill him," Bellatrix said simply, before flicking her wand. It took a second, but Regulus's right leg shuffled forwards, before the other followed and in no time at all he was walking in a zombie-like state towards Sirius – his wand raised.

"How dare you! You mental bitch!" Sirius yelled at her as he moved backwards out of Regulus's way. "Reg – listen to m-" he dodged a stunning curse from Regulus's wand just in time. "-me, this isn't you! You aren't doing this! You can still be in control! Just fight it-" he only just managed to jump out of the way of a nasty Cruciartus Curse. "Stop it!" Sirius bellowed to Bella, who was standing in the doorway with a twisted smirk.

"Oh what's wrong – ickle Sirius no want to play?" Bella pouted mockingly.

"Not with Death Eater scumb like you!" he countered.

"IMPERIO!" Bella screamed and her control over Regulus heightened to the point where Sirius could see Bella in Regulus's eyes. "KILL HIM!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Regulus yelled.

"Regulus! Stop!" Sirius cried, deflecting the curse just on time.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"I said- ARGH!" he only just managed to save himself from that one.

"Yes! Kill him! Do it now!" Bellatrix cackled, clapping her hands as she watched Sirius scramble around the room trying to dodge Regulus's curses.

"Not my cousins you little bitch!" came a voice from the doorway, wiping the smirk right off of Bellatrix's face. She hadn't expected to hear that voice again. But before she could turn around, a jet of light hit her stomach and Bella was thrown into the tall armoire opposite Sirius's bed while Regulus fell unconscious to the floor.

Andromeda breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the doorframe. Her bottom lip was burst and she had a bad cut on her forehead, causing blood to trickle down the side of her face. Her body was bruised and battered, and she limped into the room on her left ankle. Her golden silk robes were now tattered and covered in dust. Tears in the fabric showed where several severing curses had been cast, exposing the cuts beneath.

"Annie," Sirius breathed, picking himself up off the floor and running over to her side to support her. She was a mess.

"I don't think we need to worry about her much longer," she chuckled, eyeing Bella's figure lying still in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"We need to get you out of here – but Regulus-" he said turning back to his brother.

"You can't do anything to help him, he'll be that way until Bella's influence wares off. Even now he could still be a danger to us – we have to go," she told him as she summoned his trunk and turned her head to look down the stairs as thunderous thuds reached her ears.

Sirius gave his brother one last anguished look – he hated leaving him, but he knew Annie was right. There was nothing they could do. "Ok then," he agreed, helping Annie limp from the room and then positioning her against the wall outside before turning back to the door.

"What are you doing?" she asked, grabbing her side as a pang of pain shot through her.

"If I can't take him with us – then the least I can do is protect him," Sirius said, repairing the door with a flick of his wand and building a fortress of furniture around an unconscious Bellatrix before barricading the door and casting a protective enchantment around it.

Once he was done, he spent one more second standing there staring at the door. This was it.

He grabbed his trunk with one hand and supported Annie with the other as they made their way down each step.

"Where's everyone?" Sirius whispered once they reached the second floor.

"I left Mother in the hallway – one of Bellatrix's curse missed and rebounded off the wall…she's bleeding pretty bad. Uncle Orion was buried under a pile of bricks falling from the Living Room wall from a spell – I didn't see whos it was. He hasn't moved since. And Father-" she bit her lip to stop the tears. "H-He…He got in the way of Orion's killing curse-" she was cut off by a sob.

Sirius stopped walking and turned to give her a hug. He cradled her in his arms and just stood there for a minute holding her. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her to fight her own family, all for him, and he'd never be able to thank her enough.

"Narcissa," he said quietly.

"I-I don't know, she must have escaped-"

"Sirius, Andromeda, over here," came a hushed voice from behind a tapestry.

The pair looked around frantically for the mysterious voice before finding it's source and gasping.

"Cissy – what are you doing here?" Andomeda cried, limping over to her and pulling her in for a hug.

"Ye, I thought Kreacher got you and Regulus out," Sirius said suspiciously, eyeing her warily.

She stepped out from behind the tapestry properly, her green robes, like Andromedas, were completely ruined. Shards of glass and crystal from when the Chandelier had fallen had shredded her robes around her legs and her curls were frizzy and tangled.

"He did, but I had to come back. It didn't feel right – and when I saw Orion trying to kill you Annie, I couldn't not do anything-" a whimpering sound cut her off and Annie realized her baby sister was crying too.

"It was you who brought the wall down on Orion – you were the one who saved me," Annie said in awe.

Narcissa nodded. "Aunt Walburga is still in the house – she's in the family tapestry room. If you want to leave, now is the time. I don't want anymore blood to be shed over this."

Sirius and Annie looked to eachother, both of them shocked at Narcissa. They had never seen Cissy take control over a situation like this before.

Sirius nodded. "It's too risky going down to the Hall, one of them could recover. How are we going to- wait. Annie, you can apparate can't you?"

Annie turned to look at him, quite surprised. "Yes, I'm not the best at it but I can," she said warily, wondering where he was going with this.

"Can you apparate us to the garage?"

She blinked at him. "The garage? Why would you want to go to the g-"

"Please just trust me on this," he begged.

Narcissa stepped forward and placed her hand in Andromeda's one. She felt her sister squeeze her hand, and she knew that Cissy was telling her to trust Sirius. "Ok, come on we'd best-" they heard an exploding sound from the Tapestry room, followed by another, and they knew that Walburga was erasing faces from the family tree. "We'd best hurry then," Annie said quickly and grabbed Sirius by the hand before concentrating hard and turning on her heel.

She felt the sickening pull at her naval and when she opened her eyes, she was thankful that they opened to the sight of the dusty dark garage at the back of the house.

She had only ever been in here once or twice, she hadn't been sure if she could do it or not.

They heard a scurrying sound in the farthest corner of the room, where the shadows were the darkest, and Narcissa curled into Annie's side. "Lumos," she whispered and raised her wand to find the source of the noise.

She looked around, but could not find it. "Sirius – what was that?" she muttered panicly. She gasped when she turned to her left to find that Sirius was not there.

"Sirius! Where are you?" she called, now starting to feel really scared.

"I'm over here!" came a voice from the corner where the sound had come from before.

She shone her light further across the space, and sure enough Sirius was standing next to a large covered object. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Narcissa across the cluttered space to stand by his side.

"What are we doing down here? What's this?" she asked confusedly.

"This-" he smiled,"-Is our way out of here," and with that he pulled the sheet off of the object to reveal a large motorbike.

The sisters gaped at it. "THAT is how we're getting out of here? Sirius, it's falling to pieces!" Annie cried.

"It'll run," he assured her, wheeling it out a bit before flicking his wand at the garage door and opening it up. The wind surged into the space almost instantly, bringing the rain with it and Narcissa had to shield her eyes against the rain.

"Sirius! We can't go out in this! The roads are too dangerous!" Annie called to him, shocked to see that he was retrieving two dusty helmets from a cabinet near by and loading his trunk into the side cart.

"Who says we're driving on roads?" he grinned back at her, climbing on the bike and pulling a key out of his pocket. He'd been wanting to fly this all Summer, but now that he was sitting on it, he was nervous. What if it didn't start? He turned the key in the ignition, and revved the bike. It spluttered and turned off a few times before roaring to life as a loud clap of thunder sounded over head. "It's a flying bike! We can fly above the storm!" he said relieved.

Andromeda looked skeptical but needed no more encouragement when she heard a pounding sound on the wooden door at the back of the room. Someone was coming.

She scrambled on to the bike and grabbed a hold of Sirius's waist.

"Cissy! Cissy come on!" Andromeda called to her sister, who was simply standing there frozen.

Narcissa cast a worried look to the door in the corner before turning back to her sister and shaking her head. "My place is here," she said, her voice cracking and tears welling up in her eyes.

"No! No Cissy you can't stay here! You can come with us, start over! Ple-"

The door was thrown open and Walburga Black stepped into the room, her wand raised.

"Nobody can escape the wrath of the Noble House of Black!" Walburga shrieked, and Kreacher emerged from behind her smirking at Sirius and Annie on the bike.

"Rotten good for nothing little Snitch!" Sirius yelled at Kreacher, who began firing hexes at him and Annie as Walburga did.

"Annie we have to go!" Sirius called to her over the sound of glass shattering and the wind howling.

"No! We can't lea-"

"Just go!" Narcissa cried, stepping backwards out of the way of the bike and looking over her shoulder at Walburga. She was getting closer and Narcissa knew that if it looked like she was helping them escape, she too would be disinherited, and she would lose everything. Lucius. The title of Lady Malfoy. Malfoy Manor. Everything.

She brandished her wand and held it up to Andromeda and Sirius.

"Go," she begged.

"No!"

Sirius saw that Walburga and Kreacher were blasting their way through the cluttered Garage and the hexes were getting closer. He spared one last look at Narcissa before revving the engine again and gripping the handlebars tight. "Hold on!" he warned and with that, he pressed the flying button on the right handle bar and took off out of the garage – Andromeda screaming for Narcissa the whole time.

Her cries were quickly drowned out though as Sirius climbed higher into the sky, above the clouds and rain.

The last glimpse he caught of Grimmauld Place before the clouds engulfed him was of his Mother and Kreacher standing in the driveway, screaming at the top of her lungs and casting all kinds of curses into the sky.

That was the last he would see of Grimmauld Place until he would return there several years later.

As the first rays of sun broke through the clouds, he truly realized that this was it.

He was breaking free of his family.

They were gone once and for all.

He wouldn't have to go back again.

He was free of the Noble House of Black.

Once and for all.


	5. Chapter 5

-~- Epilogue: New Beginnings -~-

Sirius and Andromeda flew high above the clouds. Sirius wasn't at all sure of how long they'd been flying – he was having so much fun being free of Grimmauld Place that time was passing by in a blur. He did know however, that since they'd been flying above the clouds, Andromeda's sobs had turned into whimpers before calming down into sniffles.

He looked over his shoulder at his cousin. She was fast asleep on his shoulder, her robes clasped tight around her as they flew through the chilly August breeze and her rosy cheeks looking more flushed than usual.

The sky was no longer blue, rather it was turning yellow, with magnificent shades of pink and red blending together across the horizon.

It was Sunset.

In that moment Sirius got a flashback of all the times he'd climb onto the roof of Grimmauld Place to watch the Sunsets at Dusk. It was his favourite time of day, but seeing it from up here…it just seemed even more spectacular.

But with the setting Sun came the cold, even worse than it had been earlier with the wind, and Sirius knew that for Annie's sake as well as his own that they'd need to find a place to stay.

He looked one last time at the Sun, letting the warmth of it's rays caress his face before beginning his descent and passing through the clouds below.

Thankfully, the storm had ended and the clouds were beginning to dissipate enough that he could still see the Sun on the horizon.

He looked below and found that they were flying over fields – endless fields, as far as the eye could see – and forests with valleys and rivers. It all seemed so picturesque, so out of place given everything he had been through that day.

Sirius spotted a field below that looked flat enough for them to land on safely and within a few minutes they were gliding across the tips of tall stalks of grass that were swaying in the late Summer breeze.

The landing roused Andromeda from her sleep and she clasped onto Sirius's waist tighter during the bumpiness of it all.

"Where are we?" she asked groggily, taking in the sight of the green swaying grass and the sun in the distance.

"Somewhere outside Cambridge. A little bit West from here is Godrics Hollow. I have a friend who stays there – I think that's where I'm heading," he said with a smile.

Andromeda wiped her eyes and climbed off the bike. It took her a second to get her footing but when she did she walked a little way away through the grass to the edge of a pond and sat down on the cool grass, gazing at the Sunset.

"When we get there, I don't think I'll be staying with you," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?" he asked worriedly, they couldn't split up, not now.

"In Devon there's a town called Ottery St. Catchpole. Ted, my Ted, has a friend called Arthur Weasley. They went through school together and I know that Arthur and his new wife have a house there. I've met him a few times before, and he's a kind man. I think I'll apparate there and reconnect with Ted. I-I have to see Ted," she said shakily as she gave Sirius a weak smile.

He came over to sit on the grass beside her and used some of the water to clean a few of the cuts on her face.

"Are you going to be ok to apparate? You've been through a lot today," he remarked as he wiped the dried blood from her brow and down her cheek.

"So have you, but it hasn't stopped you from flying all this way," she smiled at him. She winced at the pain from his touch on her bruised cheek but covered it up quickly. She knew that Sirius wouldn't let her go if she was in pain.

Apparating was bad enough already without any added discomfort.

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

Looking at the determination in her big brown eyes, Sirius knew there was no point in trying to convince her. He gave a defeated sigh.

"Then we'd better get going if you want to be there before dark," he smiled and with that he stood up and held out a hand to help her to her feet.

They walked hand in hand back to the bike and once there ,Sirius helped her climb on before joining her and revving up the engine again.

Andromeda held on tight as Sirius took off through the fields, gathering more and more speed before eventually kicking off and pressing the flying button on the handlebar. The pair soared off into the sky, which was beginning to sparkle with glistening stars.

By the time the pair reached Godrics Hollow, the sky was a light shade of violet, with delicate shades of pink blended through, creating a purple hew along the horizon.

Sirius landed the bike on a dirt road outside the little village and drove through slowly. He'd only been here once or twice before and wasn't sure about the way to James's house.

"Where to now?" Annie asked as Sirius braked outside of a Churchyard, not far from the Town Square.

"You know, I haven't a clue."

Annie looked around, making sure that there were no Muggles around before taking out her wand and holding it out infront of her.

"Point Me," she said and in no time at all a sliver of green light erupted out of the tip of her wand and stretched forwards before turning and disappearing down a nearby street.

"Good thinking," he smirked at her before taking off the brake and following the thread of light. It turns out that they didn't have far to go, it was a small village and so a few minutes later they turned onto a quiet little street on the towns edge.

The houses along this road were all old and traditional, with the Tudor style white paint and dark wooden exposed beams on the front of the buildings with thatched roofs and well-kept lawns. The street was all cobbled, and so Sirius slowed down going over the bumpy surface before stopping outside of a quaint little house close to the end of the cul-de-sac.

This house was very much the same the others on the street – a beautiful flower garden, white picket fence, a plume of grey smoke leading out of the chimney - except for one crucial difference.

A Broomstick was tucked behind a Rose bush, almost out of sight, and a large grey Eagle Owl with tawny eyes was perched atop a branch in a nearby Oak Tree.

Potter Cottage.

Sirius and Annie had found it.

They dismounted the bike and Sirius motioned for Annie to stay there while he opened the white wooden gate and walked through the garden to the front door.

The owl hooted in the tree at his presence.

"Alright there Eres? Long time no see mate," Sirius greeted the bird, and at the sound of his familiar voice, Eres ruffled his feathers and spread his wings to glide down from his branch and sit on Sirius's shoulder. The bird pecked at Sirius's unkempt hair affectionately, almost scolding him for his appearance before nibbling his cheek and settling down. "Is James in?"

The bird hooted again and took off into the night sky.

Sirius took that as a no but he knew that wherever James was, Eres would bring him back.

"Ready or not! Here I come!" chirped James as he uncovered his eyes and pushed himself away from the tree he had been leaning against.

The forest was quiet around him, only the birds in the trees made any noise as they sang their little song. He heard a twig snap in the shadows, and then a giggle off in the trees and he smirked as he followed the sound.

"I'm coming," he announced in a sing-song type voice and the giggling only grew louder, teasing him more until he was running through the forest with the light of his wand to guide him.

He emerged from the trees at the same spot they'd been only minutes ago, in the little clearing with the river.

Patches of wild flowers bloomed across the grass and the sound of the water trickling through the stream made him smile. This place was so peaceful. He saw their red and white checked picnic blanket resting on the ground. It was the same as it had been only moments before – the whicker Picnic Basket sitting on the grass, the white paper plates with Sausage Rolls on them, the plastic cups with Pumpkin Juice – except for one thing.

A white Lily was sitting in the centre of the blanket.

He walked towards it in a daze, captivated by its beauty, and bent down to cradle it in his hands. He smiled down at it, taking in the sight of it, when it disappeared into thousands of little sparkles and he felt something wrap around his waist and a pair of red lips by his ear.

"Found you," smirked Lily before kissing his neck and giggling again.

"No, I found you," he teased playfully as he turned around quickly and pulled her down by her slender waist to lie on the picnic blanket beside him. The Sun was now almost fully set and stunning shades of red mixed with the purple and blue throughout the sky above them. But not even the most gorgeous shade of red in the sky could compare to the colour of Lily's hair as it splayed around her head on the Picnic Blanket.

She smiled at him, not only with her pearly white teeth, but her eyes too – that was James's favourite thing about them – the Emerald in them glinted in the light, making it seem like they were smiling too.

Lily cuddled closer to him and hooked a leg around his waist as she played with his messy dark hair. "Your hair never sits right," she pouted, as she ran her fingers through it and tried to fix it.

"How do you expect it to sit right if you're messing it up silly?" he teased and when she glared at him playfully he leaned forward to kiss her on the nose.

"More to the point, how do you expect it to sit right if you two are rolling around in the grass violating eachother? There are rooms for that you know!" Remus joked as he stepped out of the line of trees in the clearing, grinning at the young couple laughing on the grass.

"I-I thought we were playing Hide and Seek," Peter said, following Remus into the clearing and blushing slightly at intruding on the intimate moment between his two friends.

"We were," shrugged James.

"It's just that James found me first," Lily said innocently as she sat up crawled into James lap.

"Did you even bother to hide?" Remus smirked at them, settling down onto the picnic blanket by the waters edge too.

"Not really," she chuckled and let out a little squeal when James kissed pushed her glossy red hair aside to kiss her neck. It always tickled her.

Remus laughed too, the sound of Lily's laugh was contagious and before Peter knew it he was laughing too – the four of them together.

"This has been fun," Remus sighed, flicking his light brown hair out of his eyes and lying back on the blanket with his hands behind his head.

"Ye, I haven't had this much fun in weeks!" Peter agreed, picking up a stone and throwing it into the water.

"Really? I thought pranking old Batty was quite fun," Remus chuckled and grinned when James joined in.

"Oh boys don't call her that please. Bathilda Bagshot is one of the most celebrated authors of our generation! I still can't believe you Toilet-Papered her house," she said disapprovingly.

This only caused James to laugh harder. "It's not funny!" Lily insisted, swatting James across his toned chest.

"O-Oh yes it was!" he managed to say inbetween loud chortles. "Those- those weren't just pieces of Toilet Paper Lil! They were replicated pages of her book!"

Lily's frown deepened. "That's precisely my point! Do you have any idea how much I've relied on her book to get me through my History of Magic class tests?" she asked incredulously.

"Oh come on Lil, you can't blame us. You may have relied on that book but the rest of us can't stand the sight of that thing! It's torture!" Remus declared.

"Ye, remember that time when Sirius levitated his copy of it into the Whomping Willow?" James laughed.

"Or that time when he decorated old McGoggles office with the pages from the Transfiguration section of the book?" Remus added, smiling fondly at the memory.

"I miss Sirius," Peter said sadly.

"Ye so do I, he would have liked that prank…" James said, trailing off. It was sad to think that he hadn't seen his best friend all Summer.

"Well I'm sure Sirius would agree with me about this. It wouldn't kill you to broaden your minds and maybe read a good book," she said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"'Broaden your minds'? Merlin Lil, you sound like Trelawney!" James cried before dissolving into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Lily smiled, knowing that her plan had worked.

"I-I read the book," Peter said hesitantly.

James and Remus blinked at him. But Lily simply smiled.

"You should be proud of yourself Peter, I can't see either of these two being good enough students to read it," Lily goaded playfully.

"Good enough students? I'll have you know I've been made Head Boy this year!" James spluttered.

"And I'm still a Prefect!" Remus chimed in.

Lily's eyes widened. "You're Head Boy?"

"Ye…why?" granted he hadn't planned on telling her that way, but still, why was she grinning? It wasn't _that_ surprising right?

"Because I'm Head Girl," she replied, her flirty smile growing wider.

It took James a moment, but he caught on to her way of thinking. "And Head Boy and Girl share a dormitory," James said, quite stunned.

"And share a bathroom," she grinned.

"And share-"

"-Oh please spare us the details! We all know you're going to be at it like rabbits this year guys!"

"Oi!" James countered, pretending to be mock innocent and shocked that his friend would suggest such a thing.

"I resent that!" Lily retorted, plucking a chuck of grass from the ground and chucking them at Remus.

"Ok! Stop! Stop! I surren-"

A loud hoot from above sounded throughout the clearing and everyone looked up to see Eres glide into view above the tops of the trees.

"Eres?" Remus spluttered, choking on the blades of grass that Lily had thrown at him.

The majestic bird landed in the centre of the blanket and ruffled it's feathers proudly before hopping over to stand infront of James and Lily. It hooted loudly and spread it's wings before repeating it over and over again.

"What's he trying to say?" Peter asked confusedly.

"He's trying to get us to go – I think?" James said, as if asking for confirmation.

"Whatever it is, it must be quite serious if Eres is here," Lily said sounding concerned.

"I know – Remus, could you take Lily on your broom? Peter, phase into your Animagus form and hop on. We should get back at about the same time," James said and with that he closed his eyes and phased into his Stag Animagus.

He heard a squeaking sound and he looked down to find a rat scurrying impatiently around his hooves. He bent down to let the little rat climb onto his head and nestle himself between his Antlers.

Remus summoned his broomstick non-verbally and he and Lily climbed on. "We'll see you at the cottage!" Remus called before kicking off from the ground and taking off above the trees.

James watched them fly off and, determined to beat them, stamped his hooves once before rising up on his back legs and charging through the forest at a speed that would challenge even that of the latest racing broom.

Sirius had only been standing on the doorstep for a few minutes since Eres had taken off. He knew that James would not be too far away.

He pulled the brass chain by the door to ring the doorbell and he heard a chime sound throughout the cottage.

He wasn't waiting longer than a minute before he saw a small figure making their way to the front door through the frosted glass in the windowpane.

The door opened to reveal a small plump woman, with rosy cheeks and a white apron tied around her middle. She wore a kind smile and her large blue eyes widened at the sight of Sirius standing in the doorway.

"Sirius my dear! What a lovely surprise!" she greeted him and reached up to give him a hug.

Sirius patted her on the back and smiled down at her. "It has been far too long Mrs. Potter," he said genuinely. James's Mum was the kindest most down to Earth woman he'd had the pleasure of meeting in a long time.

"Indeed it has my boy, indeed it has," she grinned up at him. "I expect you're here to see James, well I'm afraid he's out at the moment – he usually goes for a stroll through the Forest behind the house at this time of day, but he'll be ba- Oh my boy," she gasped at the sight of his torn robes and cut face. "What in the world has happened to you?"

"That is why I have come Mrs. Potter, I'm sorry to intrude but I didn't know where else I could go…"

"Oh you poor thing, do come inside and we'll be sure to find you some clean clothes and a nice bit of Steak Pie – I do hope that the boys didn't scoff the lot of it," she said worriedly.

"The boys?" Sirius blinked at her.

"Well yes, James had Lily, Remus and Peter over for dinner tonight – he said you were unable to make it," Mrs. Potter said sadly.

"I was, but I'm glad I'm here now."

"And so will he, now come inside my boy out of the cold-"

"Acually Mrs. Potter, I'm not the only one here – My cousin is too," he said, turning and pointing to Andromeda who was still standing over by the bike.

"Oh you poor things! Richard! Richard! Come quick and help us into the house," Mrs. Potter called to her husband, who came hobbling down the hallway towards the front door.

"Oh Sirius my boy good to see you! And who is your friend?" Richard asked.

Sirius motioned for Annie to come over and she pushed the gate open and made her way up the garden path to stand beside Sirius.

"This is my cousin Mr. Potter. Andromeda, this is Richard Potter. Mr. Potter, this is Andromeda, we're afraid we've been given some bad news today and the situation has become so intolerable that we can no longer stay at home."

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that, I hate to hear about people receiving Bad Tidings – and right before you start school as well," Mr. Potter sighed sadly.

"Oh do come in both of you, I'll put on some tea and see if I can't rastle you up something to eat. Come on now," Mrs. Potter smiled at both of them and beckoned for them to come inside.

Andromeda nodded with a watery smile, it was so nice to meet a Mother like this and it made her think of her own – and how she'd never been treated like this before.

"That's a good girl, come on into the living room a- what is that sound?" Mr. Potter asked.

Sirius and Andromeda listened carefully. Sure enough, they did hear something. Something that made the biggest grin appear on Sirius's face.

The sound of Hooves on grass.

Sirius ran from the doorway round to the back of the house, where it was completely open to the forest behind. There, he saw a broom appear above the tops of the trees carrying two people that made his eyes water with tears of joy.

Remus couldn't believe the sight before him as he landed the broom on the soft green grass, and nor could Lily and she scrambled off of it and ran into Sirius's arms. He spun her around and the pair grinned at eachother as Remus came up to hug his friend.

Then they heard the Hooves again, and frantic excited squeaking and all three pairs of eyes looked back towards the line of trees.

The Stags big brown eyes widened and a large tear trickled out of it, and before they knew what was happening it was running towards them.

James phased back into his human form as he ran and enveloped Sirius in the biggest hug once he reached him. He hadn't seen him all Summer, and it was only now that he was seeing him that he realized how much he had truly missed his best friend.

"What are you doing here?" James asked, still getting over the shock of Sirius's sudden appearance.

"Something happened – something bad, and it involves Andromeda too," Sirius explained.

That's when James caught sight of Sirius's torn clothes, the dirt on his face, his cuts, his bruises, and anger began bubbling up inside of him.

"What did that little Blast-Ended Skrewt of a cousin do to you now?"

"It wasn't just Bellatrix…it was my whole family."

Sirius heard Lily gasp behind him and he turned to see her standing right there, with Remus by her side and Peter too.

They were all completely shocked.

"James, I'm sorry to ask this of you mate but can I-"

"You don't need to ask Sirius. No matter what happens, you will always have a home here," James smiled at him and Sirius could only smile back at him.

He felt tears pricking the corner of his eyes and James could see it too – so he gave him another hug.

This hug turned into a group one, the five of them together and it was in this way that they walked back to the house.

Back to Potter Cottage.

Back to Sirius's new home.

**A/N: I would like to say a huge special thank you to everyone who followed this story on Facebook, to everyone who has taken the time to read it on here, and to those of you that followed Sirius's story all the way through (: If you could, I'd be grateful if you would leave a review with your opinion on the story, ways I can improve my writing, anything really. Reviews make my day (: Thanks again my lovelies!**

**P.S. – I'll be writing a sequel to this story about Andromeda's Wedding to Ted. It will be called: 'Determined Affairs'.**


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